In this famous and important discourse the Buddha sets forth a standard by which a seeker can evaluate any spiritual path. With preface and supplementary texts. (For an illuminating commentary on this sutta, see Bhikkhu Bodhi's essay, "A Look at the Kalama Sutta.")

A translation of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, together with its classical commentaries. This handbook contains a wealth of essential source material for the practice of insight meditation.

These two short essays invite us to reflect constantly on the certainty of our own death and on the urgency of putting the Buddha's teachings into practice today, while we can still enjoy this precious human birth. For "truly it will be not long before this body lies in the earth, bereft of consciousness, like a useless piece of wood, which is thrown away."